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Saturday, July 25, 2015

Shop improvements

I have been gradually working on getting my shop organized and more functional.  Among the things I've been working on are removing clutter, installing a hybrid sound system, and adding shelf space. The glider rocker I mentioned in a previous post was part of removing clutter.



The sound system was a Craigslist find.  I had been looking for an old pair of speakers, a pair with huge drivers for that awesome sound that play Hendrix tunes so well.  The only modern speakers that come close are the PA speakers that bands gig with, except those lack the crisp high notes, because they lack midrange and tweeter speakers.


I found a pair of Pioneer speakers with 15" drivers, as well as midrange and tweeter speakers.  That's how it was done back in the day :)  I put them on the mezzanine after building some box stands so that they would clear the support beam.

I mentioned that the stereo is a hybrid system.  I wanted the best of the old world, which I got with the speakers.  I also wanted the best of the new world:  I plug my phone into the amp and listen to Pandora, or else I shuffle several hundred songs on the phone that are in mp3 format.  No swapping finicky vinyl records, hissing cassette tapes, or swapping CDs.

You will notice in the above photo that the work surface above the cabinets on the left is a few inches lower than the one to the right.  The left side is quite a bit more comfortable height, because the benchtop is 24" deep.  Having it that high made it difficult to reach things close to the wall.  I took the two right sections apart, and lowered them to match the benchtop at the left.

Next I installed a lower shelf.  Here the ledger boards are up and level.

Here the framework is together.  I added a couple of support legs to the span.

Complete with shelving installed.

These are new toys at the other end of the bench.  They are just Harbor Freight stuff, but the 170 Amp welder is a pretty solid one, it plugs into 230V outlet.  I also now have a mini-fridge next to the bench.

The next thing on my list before it gets cold again is to install this item:

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